Telecommunication systems, such as cellular networks or other wireless networks, use various network links throughout the network to communicate. For example, an access node may use a network link to communicate with another access node while using a separate network link to communicate with another processing node. Accordingly, the system may rely on a well-established network to provide efficient communication services.
In certain circumstances, the network access point used by a wireless device for access to the network may be changed. For example, a handover may be performed such that a wireless device changes from communicating with a first access node to communicating with a second access node. A system that effectively provides network services when such changes are performed may be able to provide a high quality service to users of the system.
Overview
Systems and methods are described for avoiding packet loss during a handover. A handover request may be received at a control element of a first communication network. It may be determined that the handover request comprises a first type of handover request. A gateway node of the first communication network may be instructed to buffer packets for the wireless device based on the determination that the handover request comprises a first type of handover request. And the gateway node may be instructed to stop buffering the packets for the wireless device based on an execution of the requested handover.